Changes in muscle, liver, and plasma free fatty acid levels in the pigeon on acute exposure to cold

Abstract Adult pigeons were subjected to acute cold exposure (-25°C; 30 min). Fully-plumed birds, showed a pronounced increase in the level of FFA in the blood, but not in the liver or muscle. Partially-defeathered (dorsum and pectoral regions) birds, likewise, showed a marked increase in plasma FFA level but failed to indicate any change in FFA levels in the liver or the muscle. It is concluded that even if the mobilized FFA may have supported calorigenic processes in the normothermic cold-exposed pigeon, lipid reserves are unlikely to have served as a significant source of energy for thermogenic functions in the hypothermic (defeathered) bird.